It is a performances centric movie

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Inexplicably this movie is one of my favorite of all time. It isn't drop dead hilarious, or particularly well acted. It even has some pretty stupid and condescending stereotypes and silly typecast characters (the nerds, jocks, little pest brother, hot-but-stupid cheerleaders) but what it does well....it does really well.Essentially the angst of the main character, just wanting to fit in, be popular are pretty universal to most teenagers. I think everyone at times, feels like they are missing out on something, that the other crowd is having more fun than you. This gets played up to the extreme as Ronald Miller goes from being "totally geek, to totally chic" only to lose it all again in heartbreaking fashion.The fine acting of a young Patrick Dempsey, and the gone too soon Amanda Petterson really make the movie for me as the chemistry is real and the awesome scenes together make me smile everytime I watch (which is nearing 20 viewings now)Courtney Gains does an excellent job of being the neglected best friend who sees his friend descend into an unrecognizable jerk and the scenes involving their eventual loss of friendship are tough to watch.It is not perfect, it shows it age a bit but having just watched it recently...I still love it.

RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Steve Rash, "Can't Buy Me Love" is a high school dramedy about a geek at an Arizona high school (Patrick Dempsey) who pays the most popular girl in school (Amanda Peterson) $1000 to act like she likes him for a month so he can move up the social strata. Of course, this creates unforeseen problems. Courtney Gains plays his geek friend and Seth Green his little brother. This is better than some 80's teen flicks (e.g. Molly Ringwald's movies), but not as good as others ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High"). It's arguably on par with "Just One of the Guys" and "Some Kind of Wonderful." Unlike those films, however, it has a semi-campy vibe wherein the cast members often exaggerate their lines in an artificial way, which telegraphs that what's happening isn't real. If you can roll with this odd element, there's a lot of good in "Can't Buy Me Love" and the ending is genuinely moving. There are many serious/realistic scenes, like the notable airplane graveyard sequence. The two protagonists have good chemistry and their relationship arc is convincing. Tina Caspary (Barbara) and Darcy DeMoss (Patty) are serviceable on the fringe female front. THE FILM RUNS 1 hours & 34 minutes and was shot in Tucson, Arizona. WRITER: Michael Swerdlick. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

I get it, lots of people love this movie because it is an '80s classic. Why? I don't understand. Patrick Dempsey's character in this movie is a wimpy, DISRESPECTFUL, and sexist male lead. He thinks he can't get girls because he's a geeky, weak-looking specimen of the male sex. Maybe. Girls his age are just as shallow as he is. But he's no great catch either. He pays a girl to pretend to be his girlfriend because that's all women are to him: property. Something to buy, something to flaunt like a gem or other worldly possession capable of being bought. If he'd just treat people with respect, maybe they'd like him a bit more, but probably not. I went to an American high school myself and understand that some things are just about social ranking. I was a science-loving film-geek, but I just so happened to letter in varsity swimming and track-and-field, so while I shouldn't have been popular, my "jock" status allowed me fame and kind treatment.Sorry to digress, but, if anything has been clear from what I've been attempting to write, I didn't like the movie. All I could think about the entire time was how such a character and such a storyline hardly deserved to be given the amount of time and effort required to make this feature film. I would not recommend this to anyone. Whatever love story this film claims to have, it is not a great one. It's a toxic relationship if it lasts. Poor Amanda Peterson for this to be one of the "top" works she'll be remembered for.

Never heard of this film before but it was a recommendation from Netflix so, after checking out an IMDb review, I watched.It was an enjoyable 80's teen comedy that is far superior to the usual John Hughes films that spring to mind when you think of 80's teen comedy.I give it a 6 but I would liked to have given it more. It had loads of potential to be a lot better, easily an 8, but some simple mistakes were made that let it down. Like using Patrick Dempsey as the lead when at no point is he convincing as a geek as he is far too handsome and has a good physique. His performance is confident rather than geeky also. Another reviewer has pointed this out and I agree.I also agree with the same reviewer who stated that Amanda Peterson's portrayal of the popular cheerleader is a compassionate one and makes it more watchable.There are some good scenes and some good laughs but throughout the whole thing I just kept thinking how much better it could have been if they'd have picked a better lead (I kept thinking of the better geek portrayals in Revenge of the Nerds), and spent a little more time on the characters, sub plots and jokes, which often felt like they all had so much potential that wasn't fully developed.I do like how the jocks and cheerleaders, while somewhat lampooned, also all have a sympathetic side. So credit is due to the writer and/or director for not making them two dimensional. Equally, there are moments that feel rushed, as if no one could be bothered to develop the characters adequately.Still, it is an easy to watch, enjoyable, charming film.